Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the acceptability of lower glycemic index (GI) foods served at diabetes camp. DESIGN: Crossover design of standard and lower GI menus. SETTING: Three consecutive 5-day diabetes camp sessions. PARTICIPANTS: 140 youth, age 7-16, with type 1 or 2 diabetes. INTERVENTION: A standard camp cycle menu was reformulated to include 2 1/2 days of standard foods and 2 1/2 days of lower GI foods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Youth provided satisfaction ratings after meals and snacks using measures designed for this study. Observations of food consumption were conducted on a random sample of youth for each meal. ANALYSIS: Descriptive analyses and t-tests were conducted to assess differences in satisfaction with and consumption of standard and lower GI foods. RESULTS: Lower GI foods served at dinner and for snacks received satisfaction ratings equal to standard foods (dinner: 3.68 lower GI versus 3.79 standard, P = .30; snacks: 3.74 lower GI versus 3.79 standard, P = .60). Lower GI foods served at breakfast and lunch received lower, though very acceptable, ratings (breakfast: 3.76 lower GI versus 4.04 standard, P < .01; lunch: 3.64 lower GI versus 3.88 standard, P = .01). Consumption of all meals was acceptable. No differences occurred in the frequency of high or low blood sugars between standard and lower GI days. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Higher quality carbohydrates may be provided to youth in institutional settings while maintaining sufficient levels of acceptability; specific findings are instructive for designing efforts to increase their consumption.